Daughter
by Estora
Summary: The stepfather, the mother, the father. Isabella Swan has been a daughter to three people, and they all see her very differently.


_Disclaimer:__ This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Stephenie Meyer. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended._

_Author's Notes:__ This story was commissioned by __**Dante [Jess]**__ from the TwilightSucks Forums._

**DAUGHTER**

– Phil –

Phil Dwyer could never honestly say he was fond of his wife's daughter. That wasn't to say he _disliked_ her. He just never _liked_ her.

Isabella Swan was an anomaly – a puzzle he couldn't figure out, or ever had much desire to. Meeting her had been awkward, a few clumsy hellos and a few comments about the weather. She didn't care much for his sport, and he didn't care much for…whatever it was that she liked. Which wasn't his fault. He didn't even know the girl, despite his intimacy with Renee. She was always so quiet, so reserved.

Some might have called it shyness, or conservative politeness.

He just thought it was standoffishness.

His step-daughter had never warmed up to him. He wasn't sorry for this, but he could never help but wonder if whether her indifference towards him was what caused him to keep his distance, or his distance caused her indifference. He preferred to think it was the former.

When she left, after he and Renee were married, it took a lot of effort for him to not start cheering madly, certain it would upset his admittedly air-headed wife. Isabella, the strange thing she was, decided that she would be play the martyr and sacrifice her place in her mother's life to give him and Renee space. Oh, he was very grateful (that she was leaving his life), but did she have to be so _stuck-up_ about it?

Okay, perhaps that was not very fair of him since he barely knew the girl, but the martyr-like grim determination in her eyes, as if she were about to leave home forever to go to war, really annoyed him. Like, _really_ annoyed him. She acted as if the world was against her, as if it was her sole duty to take care of others and be selfless. Which she wasn't really, if she was thinking that hard about it. Normally he wouldn't have given a damn – it was just the girl's _brooding_.

_Oh, poor me, I must send myself away so that Renee and Phil can be together without me being a burden. Must be selfless, must be selfless, must make sacrifices, poor me, going to a town I despise to live with a father I pretend doesn't exist…_

Yes, it was all about _her_. Never mind that his Renee didn't want Isabella to leave, even though she never seemed to realise just how badly the girl treated her. Erratic and harebrained, she called Renee.

He sort of felt sorry for her real father. Charles, or something, having to put up with a daughter like _that_.

Well, good riddance to her, was what he thought when her plane departed. He didn't need some moping teenager to look after. She wasn't _his_ daughter, after all.

– Renee –

Renee Higgenbotham loved her daughter.

Her precious, middle-aged teenager. Her Isabella Swan – beautiful swan. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

She was always such a good girl – so caring, and quiet, and selfless. Always patient with Renee's mistakes. Always there, to pick up after her mother's mistakes. Always there to call when she got lost in the city, always there to pay the bills and buy food.

"Harebrained", her Bella often called her. "Erratic."

(Phil didn't like it when she called Renee that, but Renee didn't mind.)

Renee didn't know why Bella thought she had to leave when Phil married her. She didn't want her daughter to leave, but she seemed okay about going to Forks to live with Charlie. Happy, smiling. Wanting to give her mother and new stepfather some space, now that she had someone else to look after her.

Bella was such a good daughter.

– Charlie –

Charlie Swan never really understood his daughter, and it pained him to know that.

There was no doubt that he loved his Bella. He'd loved her from the moment he first held her in his arms, tiny and writhing and so fragile – a year, he'd been her father, and no longer. He never truly overcame the hurt that destroyed him when Renee left unexpectedly, taking his little girl with her.

He never got to see her grow up, not really.

Charlie was ecstatic when Bella came to live with him in Forks, but saw instantly that she was less than impressed – possibly even horrified – with her new home. And the worst thing was, he didn't even know why. He'd tried to make her feel at home, but nothing he did ever seemed to cheer her. It was as if it was her personal hell on earth, for reasons he could not begin to fathom.

He gave her space and didn't crowd her. He always suspected she disliked his company, and that suspicion wounded him more than anything else imaginable. Her false smiles when he asked if she was happy here, her refusal to meet his gaze, her forced 'thanks' after he bought her a truck in the hopes that he might finally win some real affection…she was such a victim. Of course she wasn't happy around him, and he wondered why she even bothered coming if all she was doing was spreading gloom.

He didn't understand her, and after a while, he just stopped trying. It was like she didn't _want_ to be understood, as if she was perfectly content being miserable.

He hoped one day she would understand that he was only trying to do right by her. After all, no matter how much she silently sulked, he would never stop loving his daughter.


End file.
